Sail winch layout for scale sail gaffer
 

Hi, I am new to the forum, and new to RC. I have been building a scale model of a Morecambe Bay prawner (Lancashire nobby), using a hull from Waverley Models. The boat is now complete, but I am having problems with the sail winch (ACE WQ2811). I found a set up in a modelling book which suggested a continuous loop with offtakes for jib sheets and main sheet. There isn't much room below deck so I added pulleys to increase travel. When I switch on the handset the servo runs on its own without any use of the control stick. Recently it has stopped working at all, but only some of the time. I haven't had the boat in the water yet, just using the RC to set up the sheeting at the right length. The steering servo is fine, so I assume the receiver is working and the problem lies with the sail servo.
I found a post on an American modellers site which suggested that the servo might be stalling and burn out. My local model club is no help as no-one does RC sail apart from kits. I saw someone post about a similar problem on this site, so can anybody help? Photos or plans of the sheet layout, or advice on setting up the servo would be very helpful.
Thanks

If the boat radio has been switched on before the transmitter, the winch servo might well have stalled itself and died. This is unlikely to happen to the steering servo as power levels are much lower. Personally, I would have opted for one of the new drum servos with the shrouded drum (same size as a standard servo), and just used it single ended to keep things simple. Probably a fraction of the price, as well. Certainly much more compact, and the problem might well change, depending on the type, to one of too much travel.
While information in books is often good, when you start looking at modern technology, it advances so quickly that book information is often outdated before it gets printed.

Thanks for the advice. If I get a shrouded drum servo, does the main sheet attach directly to the drum, and can I get a double drum so I can have jib sheets on the other one? Another question: I didn't know you should switch on the handset before the boat; is this the usual way round?

They come with a double drum as standard, its up to you how to use it. The line does attach fairly directly - it will need to be led around a few corners on its way. Down from the boom to a point on or near the deck, usually back to the stern or somewhere convenient, down into the underworld and off to the drum. They can be a bit critical about the line used - I find that braided salmon backing about 30lb is smooth and flexible enough for free running, doesnt stretch and is thin enough to thread up easily while not being so thin as to tangle inside the shroud.
It is the common practice to switch the TX on first, that way the RX is most likely to get a valid signal, and is less likely to generate and send spurious signals to whatever is plugged into it. Back when 27MHz was the morm, I often did it the other way round mostly to check whether anybody around was on "my" channel. Nowadays, with 2.4GHz, it is pretty vital to have the TX on first.

"I didn't know you should switch on the handset before the boat; is this the usual way round? "

just think about how it works.
the boat does what the transmitter (hand set) tells it.
without that they tend to do bad things, like a child without supervision...